


Green Light

by HaleHound



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-16
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2017-12-06 14:55:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/736955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaleHound/pseuds/HaleHound
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Missing her little brother, Laura Hale became the manager of a teenage band, which includes Scott, Stiles and Jackson. Now, she has to deal with them and their problems. Laura may also have indirectly caused some new developments about the fire that killed almost all of her family by finding out some new info that she wants to share with Derek. Also, mysterious foxes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Laura had a plan

**Author's Note:**

> The punctuation will look weird to most of you, but I automatically did that the french way, and I was too lazy to correct. I hate the french punctuation for dialogs, and here we are. This is ridiculous. Anyway, I hope you’ll like this.

 

 

 

 

Laura Hale closed the door of the house after the three boys came in. They were already fighting, as was often the case.  
« – I told you right from the beginning why I was here, so don’t try and go all bossy on me, you—  
– Oh ! Oh we know you’re only part of the band to be cool, Jackson, but, you know, eventually, you won’t look so cool if you keep being off-key, or off-rythm, OR BOTH ! And if _you’re_ not cool, we’re gonna look like two of your pathetic followers even though we actually know how to play the guitar !  
– Boys. Shut up. Sit down. Scott, tell me how it started this time. »  
So here she was, listening to a teenager explain why Stiles started to yell at Jackson for the nth time since they had let the popular boy join their band.  
Laura liked them. She had met Stiles and Scott on a sunny spring day, they were playing some of their favourite songs in the McCall’s open garage to let some heat in. The music was nice, and Derek had just gone back to California after a month at home, she needed to keep herself busy.  
And now she was kind of a manager for this bunch of young idiots, _Scott had a plan_. The name sounded beautifully ridiculous, and she told them that having one of their names in it wasn’t a good idea, but they stuck to it. They would probably change it later, anyway.  
« – Stiles. I know this is difficult for you to work with Jackson—  
– Why would it be difficult ? », Jackson interrupted.  
« – HEY ! I’m talking to Stiles. »  
He sank in the couch. She somewhat liked to shut that cocky smartass up, sometimes…  
« – I don’t see what you mean. », Stiles said.  
« – Yeah, sure. Well, try to put what you don’t see I mean away when you’re all together. You know what they say, life is a bitch, but it is the life.  
– Actually, it’s “The law is har—”  
– I know, Stilinski, but you’ll admit it doesn’t make any sense in your situation. »  
He stopped talking and tilted his head.  
« – Fair enough.  
– Good. And you, stop being a jackass instead of a Jackson.  
– Oh, nice one !  
– Stiles !  
– Sorry. Please resume your speech.  
– Jackson, I know you’re here to be even cooler than you are. I won’t pretend to get it, but I’m okay with that as long as you’re not taking _their_ fun away. If you do, I’ll kick your young ass away. Plus, Stiles is right—  
– I do love that speech, Laura.  
– Shut up ! » Jackson said in an angry voice.  
« – He’s right on one thing. If you don’t make an effort, you’ll pay the price too. »  
She let the words sink in for a few seconds and then told them the news.  
« – You really should work on that team spirit, because I got you a gig. »  
A crash was heard, and a lamp lay dead on the floor. She should have known.  
« – WHAT ?!  
– A gig ?  
– With people ?  
– Yes Stiles, with people.  
– Oh my God…  
– Please everybody keep calm and listen to Mama Hale. For now, you will only do covers. Five songs, you’re filling in for a band who will be late, but will still come.  
– Wait a minute. Filling in ? When is it ?  
– Go away from my glass coffee table, Stiles.  
– Oh my— _when_ ?  
– Tomorrow night. »  
Quite the commotion ensued. Jackson and Scott got indignant, Stiles tried to sit on the armchair’s side but failed and fell.  
Laura smiled.

The show had been great, Laura was so proud of them. They had made people dance, even though it hadn’t been past 8pm yet. They looked like they were actual friends, onstage. Now they were putting their instruments in her SUV (old SUV, but big enough to be very useful, now). She was still looking at their first check but glanced at the back-door of the place just in time to open it instead of bumping into it.  
« – Laura. Jackson already left.  
– With his _Porsche_.  
– Oh. I guess we’ll have fun without him, then.  
– You mean we’ll have _more_ fun without him.  
– Stiles… That’s not what I meant… But it is true. »  
They both laughed while her phone beeped. She read the text, it was from Derek.  
 _Hey sis. Coming to see you next week. Couldn’t wait until Thxgiving. I have a new car._  
« – Come on, get in the car, you two. », she said happily.  
Her brother coming two month earlier than planned was the cherry on this cake of a night.


	2. It was a black Camaro

A week later, they were listening to some of Laura’s music and chatting. Somehow, while Laura went to fetch some more drinks in the kitchen, Scott and Stiles had started to talk about girls.  
‘No. I’m not saying you should give up on Lydia—’  
‘HA! I knew you had a crush on Jackson’s girlfriend.’ Laura said, making Stiles flinch and immediately feeling sorry for that too enthusiastic tone.  
‘It’s not a crush! It’s… More.  
‘Do you know her?’  
‘What? Of course I know her. Lydia Martin, beautiful closeted genius and mean girl since 1994. That’s my girl.’  
‘I mean _really_ know her. For example, have you seen her in a non-hostile environment? In a place where she can be herself?’  
‘At… the… mall?’ he answered hesitantly.  
Laura rolled her eyes while Scott suddenly smiled like an idiot.  
‘I’ve seen Allison in a non-hostile environment. She was adorable. And sexy. And wet. I mean, because of the rain, not, erm, you know. It was because of the rain, that fell on her.’  
‘Oh shut up.’  
‘Stiles. I am not saying that your feelings are meaningless or devoid of any reality, but maybe you should listen to Scott and try to move on.’  
‘I tried to do that. I really did. It’s just that…’  
‘No one caught your eye like she did?’  
‘Um. Yeah. Basically.’  
Laura’s phone rang and she sighed upon seeing the name on the screen.  
‘I’m sorry, I have to take this. Get ready to leave, I won’t be long.’ she said pointing at her wrist with the phone.

Stiles hasn’t been feeling well since that day started, and the conversation before their gig didn’t exactly help. He avoided to think about how Laura and Scott were right. Now their show was over, he was in the restroom, facing a not-so-clean mirror. How cliché. He couldn’t stay here in front of his stupid face. He needed some air.  
He hurried to the back-door and pushed, automatically walking to Laura’s SUV. Coming closer, he noticed the car behind it. A man was leaning against it with his back to him.  
‘Hey! Nice car, dude.’  
The man turned around and Stiles saw his eyes first. They were green and luminous. He didn’t seem to be surprised by the sudden disturbance in the relative silence of the night, but the flicker of a proud smile briefly appeared on his face when he replied.  
‘Thanks.’  
‘You’re welcome.’  
And handsome. And _eyes_.  
He was wearing a grey buttoned t-shirt with a black leather jacket. All of his clothes were black, actually, except the t-shirt. His eyes were the only color on him, lively and deep, contrasting with his overall grave and solemn look. Stiles felt like there was a lot to be told behind his eyes. He was starting to think about what story there could be when the young man spoke again.  
‘Are you waiting for someone, or… ?’  
Stiles realised he had not breathed during those past few seconds and replied with a shaky laugh.  
‘Nope. Not really. Just—needed some air. Or. Something else. I dunno. Probably got it, though, since I’m feeling better. Not that I was feeling that bad. It’s—the heat, it’s probably the heat, in the bar, that made me feel weird. So I came here. To take my mind off some stuff. Erm. I should go. It’s late. Have a good night.’  
The teenager walked to the street without looking back, but he heard something like ‘Uh. Thanks. You too… I guess.’ in a confused voice. Of course the guy was confused. How could he not be? Stiles could not shut up. He turned round the corner of the street and slapped himself in the face. What. A. Stupid. Idiot.  
Hopefully, he would never see that man again. A shame, really, not to see such a perfect body, and face, and _eyes_ —oh really those eyes, he missed them already. He didn’t finish his sentence, did he? Oh, whatever. It was only thinking. Nobody to listen to him, so why finish interrupted trains of thought? Oh. He left the bar. He left the bar without telling anyone. Damn had he walked fast. He was already halfway home. He texted Laura, writing he would get his stuff back the following day. Maybe he would explain. Or not. God he could already hear her saying ‘Looks like he _did_ catch your eye, that one.’ with one of her smiles, a wicked wicked smile, the kind of wicked smile that people make when they’re so sure about something. Ugh. And what was there to be sure about? He wasn’t going to see him again, anyway. It was only eye candy for the night. Oh, yeah, eye candy for the night, now that was interesting, Stiles thought nodding to himself and grinning. Or, wait. Eye candy. Green eyes. He needed to write.

When he closed the door of his bedroom a few minutes later, he rushed to his desk and grabbed some piece of paper with greasy stains and his favourite pen. He made a list of things those eyes were like, a list of phrases with the word “eye” in it, and another list with the word “green”, all at the same time.  
Demantoid garnet, eye candy, green light—green light was good, he’d probably use it.


	3. The sound of drums

Laura put the phone back in her jacket and went closer to Scott so he could hear her, despite the music blasting from the stage.  
‘Stiles is on his way home, we don’t need to wait for him. Give me ten minutes and come to the SUV, okay?’  
Scott stared at her for a few seconds. Admittedly, what she asked was slightly strange, but Derek was already waiting, she had no time for this.  
It had been months since they last saw each other, and Laura’s face lit up when she found him near a black Camaro.  
‘Hey! Little one!’  
She hurried and hugged him, while he was kind of protesting.  
‘I can put up with the hugs but are you ever gonna stop call me that?’  
‘I don’t plan to do that.’  
‘Of course.’  
‘I’m so glad to see you, really. And we have to talk.’  
‘Talk?’  
‘Yes, usually, two people seeing each other, that’s what they do, they socialize, you know, they—’  
‘Laura.’  
She sighed. She was a bit nervous about this. If she was right about this, it would hurt him, and she didn’t want to hurt him so soon after having him at home. But she didn’t have a choice, and as they said: the sooner, the better.  
‘I learnt some stuff, but I really can’t tell you here. You might need a drink. And a couch.’  
‘It’s that bad?’  
‘Pretty much, yeah.’  
‘You’re sure you can’t tell me now? If I’m shell-shocked, you can still drive me home. My car is too badass to fear being left alone near a bar.’  
Laura would have laughed but she only smiled.  
‘Okay. I asked some questions. To some people. There is a teacher, a chemistry teacher, he told me that he had talked to a girl before… before the fire. Basically, he was too glad to chat with someone interested in the same things he was, so he wasn’t suspicious at the time, but amongst other things, he told her how to start a fire and get away with it.’  
‘So a girl trapped our family. Did he describe her? How is that b—’  
‘Yes. And he drew the necklace she was wearing.’  
Laura took the paper out of her pocket and gave it to Derek. She watched him carefully as he unfolded it. He didn’t recognized it at first, but she could feel him search his own memories. Then his face showed that he found it, and it slowly crumpled. Laura hated it. She wanted to hit something.  
‘It’s Kate’s.’  
‘I wasn’t sure, that’s why I needed to show you… I’m really sorry, Derek.’  
He didn’t say anything and Laura didn’t know what to do. She could barely look at him like that. The abrupt way his relationship with Kate Argent had ended had already been hard to deal with, but this explanation was probably even worse. Laura reached out and pulled him to her by the neck.

Laura knew that Derek heard Scott coming but he didn’t move away from her until the teenager spoke.  
‘I’m sorry, I can come back in a few minutes.’  
‘No Scott, it’s okay, we’re leaving. Here’s my brother, Derek.’  
‘Oh your brother? Hi!’  
‘Hi. So you’re the one that had a plan?’  
‘Uh, yeah. Except, not really.’ he replied with a smile, ‘Your sister is awesome.’  
‘I know.’  
‘Please stop, I might ask for money. To both of you.’

Scott was home, Laura had asked him to text her when he was. Derek was home, with her. It deserved a pause and a drink.  
‘I don’t understand how you can drink so much diet coke.’ Derek told her.  
‘As if you weren’t addicted to anything.’  
Derek sighed and smiled a little. Hopefully he would start doing this more often, but it wasn’t likely to happen in a very near future.  
‘Laura… We need to do something about Kate.’  
‘Yes. I will talk to the police.’  
Like she knew he would, Derek disagreed on that point.  
‘We can’t let them take care of this! They won’t do anything! They’ve been totally useless when it happened, tell me why they would be interested this time.’  
‘The current sheriff. I trust him, and I think he will trust me and do what is in his power.’  
Derek rolled his eyes and scoffed.  
‘I doubt it.’  
‘I don’t care if you doubt it. What exactly were you thinking of, Derek? Find her, hurt her and kill her? You can’t. There is no discussion about that. Ever. I will not become–or let you become–a criminal because of that fricking bitch, do you understand?’  
Derek opened his mouth but said nothing. Good. After all, she was the older sister. Hell, she was the Alpha. Shaking, but still the Alpha.  
‘Do you understand, Derek? Look at me and answer my question.’  
He clenched his jaw and looked at her. Hed hadn’t looked at her like that since they were 14 and 17, when she had accidentally let their mom know he had sort of a date. It was a very mean look, a “I’m gonna kill you with my claws in your sleep” look. But this time, she was doing the right thing, so instead of averting her eyes, she withstood the mean look and raised her eyebrows, waiting for an answer.  
‘Yes. I understand.’ he growled.  
He sounded frustrated and furious, and Laura understood that, buth they could not allow themselves to turn into vigilantes.  
‘Laura, I want to talk to that teacher.’

The next morning, Stiles took advantage of his father’s presence to tell him something important.  
‘Dad. I’d like to have a drum kit.’  
‘I’m sorry, what?’  
‘I’ll pay part of it, and I can give you the rest of the money back later, but could you please help me buy a real drum kit instead of that thing I have? Pretty please?’  
Mr Stilinski put his coffee mug down on the counter, his face betraying nothing of what he was going to say.  
‘Stiles…’  
‘And I can even ask Laura if it’s possible to leave it at her place, she lives alone in there, aft—’  
‘WILL YOU LISTEN?’  
‘Sorry. Go on. I won’t interrupt.’  
‘I have a drum kit. Haven’t used it since you were born, but it should be okay after a little check-up. What do you think of this ?’  
Stiles’ mouth hung open and he was still, which told his father he didn’t expect this at all and made him smile. Eventually, Stiles did answer.  
‘I think it’s great. Awesome! Where is it?’  
‘I only have one question, young man. Why the sudden haste?’  
Stiles looked away, first glanced at his feet, then somewhere behind his dad.  
‘I, uh, wrote a song. And it would sound better with drums. I’d actually like a bit of violine too, but I can’t play violine at all, while I do know how to play the drums.’  
‘Oh. That’s nice.’  
Mr Stilinski wanted to ask more, but he was “awesome” enough not to do it. Because there was no way his dad were going to read or hear this song.

Laura looked at the microwave’s clock. The boys were going to arrive in slightly more than an hour, and Stiles had something to tell her. To be honest, she was as excited as she was worried. It could be anything, knowing him.  
Before she could imagine what he was up to, her phone rang. It was Derek. Derek, who was supposed to go buy some groceries (and was probably playing with his new toy of a car, since he had left two hours ago).  
‘Laura, Kate is here.’  
Blood left Laura’s face–and her entire body, if you asked her– but it was quickly replaced by anger.  
‘You looked for her? Where are you?’  
‘I did not ! I’m at the grocery store, and she’s in the coffee shop on the other side of the street, with a teenage girl.’  
Laura leaned against the wall and inhaled. She could hear blood pounding in her ears like drums. Her throat was dry and tight, but she had to sound like she was fine.  
‘Derek, you don’t have to stay there, if you want to come back home, please do. Just don’t–don’t do anything stupid. Don’t go to her. We need to think about what we’re going to do. Did she see you?’  
‘I don’t think so. And I’m here, I’m not gonna run just because she is nearby, Laura. Stop being so…’ Derek said aggressively.  
Laura waited for the end, but it wasn’t coming.  
‘Yeah. Protective. I’m protecting you.’  
‘I know. But you’re doing too much!’ he said abruptly. ‘I’m not a kid anymore.’

When Derek came back, he put away everything himself, without saying anything, while Laura was brooding and watching some idiotic TV show as punitive noise pollution. She was also waiting for her bunch of young idiots.  
He grabbed a bottle of beer and a can of diet coke before going to the living room.  
‘Laura. I know what you’re doing.’  
‘Good for you. Wouldn’t have expected less from an adult.’  
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—’  
She sighed and finally looked at him.  
‘You did. You were kind of right, I suppose. I may have overreacted.’  
‘Not really. That’s why I called you. I would have gone to her. I don’t know what would have happened, but it didn’t, because I called you.’  
Laura paused and resumed her TV watching.  
‘So I’m not that useless of a sister?’  
Derek scoffed.  
‘Want a coke?’  
Meanwhile, outside, a fox seemed to be attentively observing the scene.


	4. The Red Amongst the Rest

When Stiles arrived at high school that morning, there was a girl in the car next to his. She was looking at the building, lost in thought. After waiting for Scott for a few minutes and as she was getting out of the car, he went to her.  
‘Hey! You new?’  
‘Erm, yeah. Is it so obvious?’  
‘I have a photographic memory and I’ve never seen you before. Well. That and the fact that you were looking at the school in a way that only newbies can, full of hope and at the same time a strong desire to be somewhere else.’  
The girl seemed amused and turned to him. Her red ponytail swung and she was wearing a Nightwing t-shirt. Blue Nightwing. Stiles nodded towards it.  
‘Huh. Fingerstripes fan, are you?’  
Her smile grew wider and a spark illuminated her eyes.  
‘Yes. I’m okay with the new one but fingerstripes were… something more. Sexier, also. But mainly, blue made more sense to show his independence from the Bat. Why are you smiling?’  
‘You speak like you’re interested.’  
‘I am.’  
She seemed a little offended, and when she started to speak again, she looked menacing.  
‘Is this one of those Fake Geek Girl that you’re pulling off on me? Because if that is, know that I have absolutely no reason to justify how much and why I love comics or anything else, and if you think I can’t be passionate about those because I’m a girl, you’re a bigot. And a jerk.’  
Stiles had taken a step back when she had pointed a finger at his chest.  
‘O-kay… But… That wasn’t what I meant. At all.’  
‘Oh.’  
‘I meant I don’t have any friends here who really love comics.’  
‘Oh. I feel a bit ridiculous now.’  
‘Don’t.’  
They looked at each other for second, then looked away. The girl grabbed the tip of her ponytail and twisted it.  
‘I’m Cara.’  
‘Stiles. I’m… Stiles. Everyone calls me Stiles.’  
‘Okay. See you in the hallways, I guess. I have to see the principal before first period so, I’d better go…’  
‘Yeah! See you!’

 _Beep beep beep beep beep—_  
‘Ugh.’  
Laura turned in her bed, looking at the ceiling for a second before closing her eyes again. She breathed in deeply after a minute and sighed.  
‘UGH.’  
A few minutes later, she was grabbing the box of cereal in the cupboard above the sink. Derek was already sitting at the counter, staring at his bowl of coffee and milk.  
‘That was a mistake.’ she said.  
‘I can’t fucking wake up.’  
‘What time is it?’  
‘Laura, I heard your alarm clock. I’m guessing it didn’t ring at a time of its choosing, so maybe try to remember how you set it.’ he said in a raspy morning voice.  
‘Shut up.’  
Barely awake and already sarcastic, that little jerk.  
‘It’s 8:15.’  
She sat down and started to eat. She had to ask but she needed to muster up a tiny bit of courage and energy.  
‘Derek?’  
‘Yeah?’  
‘I… I’m going to see Peter, today. Do you want to come with me?’  
‘Yeah, of course.’

Scott had arrived at the last possible minute and they couldn’t even talk during first period because they were watching a stupid documentary about something that didn’t even register in Stiles’ brain. Point was, everybody had been quiet, which had made the talking impossible. Now they were leaving the classroom and Scott was at the door.  
‘Hey!’  
‘Yeah hi. Too many stuff today, dude. First, I heard some very interesting things from the police radio before I left the house. But we’ll discuss it later. Second, there’s a cool new girl in town. Or, new in our high school at least.’  
‘Great! Did you talk to her?’  
‘Wh-I-YES, of course I did, why wouldn’t I?’  
‘You want an answer to that?’  
‘No. Anyway, she seems cool, I think we should do something with her sometime.’

A little over an hour later, Laura was parking the car near Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital. They had been quiet the whole way and still were. Peter was the last remaining member of their once huge family. He was here for the exact same reason the others were dead. He was barely alive, to be honest, but he was here, and sometimes he was the only one Laura could talk to. Even though he couldn’t respond, even though nobody knew if he really could hear and understand, Laura talked to him a lot when she visited him. She had told him when it was confirmed the fire wasn’t an accident. She had told him when Derek had left the town and asked her to come with him and bury the blazing memories. She had told him when she decided to find out who started the fire.  
When Laura and Derek entered Peter’s room, the nurse was still here and the TV was on. Peter looked like he was watching it but as usual, his eyes weren’t focused on anything.  
‘Laura…’  
Derek nodded towards the TV so Laura would watch. She read the title and froze, then turned slowly to Derek.

A body had been found in the woods near their old house. A body without a head.


	5. Hale Tail Tale

Derek and Laura slammed the doors of the car and he was the first to speak.  
‘What should we do?’  
‘I don’t know. Nothing. We don’t have the slightest clue who could have done that.’  
‘It looks like a werewolf attack, from what they say, it’s—’  
‘I KNOW. I. I know.’  
Laura sighed and stared ahead of her.  
‘Maybe it’s not a werewolf, maybe it’s just some kind of psycho who likes to sever heads. Maybe it’s none of my Alpha business.’  
‘I, uh, I think it is.’  
Laura let her head hit the wheel and moaned.  
‘Derek, you… you really should learn when to say what. I needed you to say ‘Yeah, probably’ so I could get us safely to home. And THEN, we would have thought more about what to do about this—this fucking murder.’

Night had fallen upon Beacon Hills, and Laura was drinking Diet Coke nervously.  
‘It’s okay, Laura, I got this.’  
‘I know. I’m nervous about what you’re going to find. I am perfectly confident you can flirt your way out of trouble.’  
Derek just smiled in a ‘ashamed but not really’ way.  
‘Okay, so everything clear?’  
‘Laura, it’s not like the plan is complicated or anything, you want to search for the file while I distract the officer.’  
The bell rang, making Laura jump and stare at the door, mild horror on her face.  
‘Oh shit.’  
‘What?’  
‘The boys. I forgot about them. I forgot to cancel. I can’t cancel again at the last minute. Stiles had been waiting for days to tell me something. Shit.’  
‘I can go alone.’  
‘We could wait and go after they leave.’  
The bell rang again and a voice made its way through the wood.  
‘We can hear you, Laura, open the damn door, it’s cold and it’s drizzling.’  
‘I’m coming.’  
Laura got up and strode towards the door.  
‘Hello! Is Jackson coming later?’  
‘Yes, he’s with Lydia.’  
‘Okay. Well come in, my brother—uh, my brother was here a minute ago. I guess he left without waiting for my approval…’  
‘Your approval?’  
‘Yeah, no, I mean, we were discussing something important. It doesn’t matter. Let’s start. Stiles. What is it you wanted to tell us?’  
‘I—I wrote a song.’

Cara hurtled down the stairs. She was hungry and dinner time was her salvation right now.She had been reading for hours and hadn’t eaten anything since lunch. She set the table as fast as she could and sat down impatiently waiting for dinner. Her dad came from the kitchen with roasted chicken.  
‘Can you bring the potatoes, darling?’  
‘Yep.’  
As soon as she was sat, her dad looked at ther.  
‘Any progress with Stilinski? Have you been able to engage in a conversation with him?’  
‘He did, actually, I was not even inside the school yet. He seems nice, it’s not going to be very challenging.’  
‘Does he have friends?’  
‘He has one friend he has most of his courses with and with whom he spends all of his free time. I think they even left together. They’re probably close but the guy doesn’t look like he’s going to be a problem for us.’

When Derek came back to the house, Laura’s car wasn’t here and he was alone. He didn’t remember her actually saying what was planned for the night and assumed she was in a bar cheering for the band.  
He got what he wanted because fortunately, BHPD officers feel the need to write their passwords on a sticky note in the nearest drawer (at least it’s not right beside the computer, he had thought). He left the documents he printed under a pile of magazines in the living-room and texted Laura to know where she was. Derek added that he got the number of Tara, the woman on duty at the police station, smirking to himself. When it was sent, he took a look around. Laura’s house almost felt like home, but something was missing. He didn’t pay attention to it that much when she was here, but now he was alone and it felt strange and alien.

After dropping Scott at home, Laura was now in front of Scott’s house. She glanced at the mirror and saw the same dark SUV that was following her since she left the house with the boys. She frowned but quickly swept the expression away from her face to say goodbye to Scott. He closed the door and she watched him enter his home. She couldn’t even leave at that point, she needed to wait until the light in his bedroom was on, throwing quick looks in the mirror to check what was the other driver doing. He or she had stopped the car on the side, lights off, but no one got out.  
She was about to look away when another car passed the suspicious SUV and let her see who the driver was.  
She started the car quickly and piled on the accelerator as soon as she could but the other car was close. She had to think fast. She made a detour, taking unexpected turns. The asshole really was following her, if there had any doubt about that. For a second, Laura thought about going in a less populated area of the town, but it didn’t actually seemed like a good idea. Laura was on her own against them, and there was probably no good side in isolating herself even more. She was approaching the house and suddenly thought of Derek. She slowed down and rummaged through her purse to find her phone to speed-dial his number. Thankfully, he picked up quickly.  
‘Derek, you need to hide right now. Don’t even try to argue. No time.’  
‘What?’  
‘What part of no time do you not understand? I’m on my way home but I’m being followed. Just hide and shut up.’  
She hung up before he could reply some kind of idiotic reckless thing and drove into her street.  
‘Time to channel Mom. I’m a predator, not a killer. I will not attack them.’  
She parked her old SUV in the driveway and jumped out of it, closed the door, then turned and waited for Kate to come to her.  
Except Kate was not like her, and Laura was grabbed by someone from behind, before a needle was inserted into her neck and her head covered in a black hood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually forgot to post the chapters when I wrote them and only published them on my blog.  
> I'm finally on my first holiday from work, right now, so it's not impossible that I FINALLY get to write another chapter.


End file.
